Brethren, Peace and Good to all of you. I wish you all a Happy New Year 2012 along with all your families and friends.
In observance of the holidays, I’ll be making a blogfast through Epiphany. Please, enjoy the contents currently online.
May God bless you this Christmas and Epiphany seasons.
Brethren, may the Peace and Good of Our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you.
Since there are no Sundays in the Christmas Octave this year, today we honor the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.
True blessedness is found on this earth in one’s family. God became a member of a human family Himself, a nuclear family and an extended family.
Twenty-five years ago this day, my wife and I became parents for the first time, starting our own family – Happy birthday to my eldest son today!
May all of us who are fathers and mothers care, nurture, and strengthen our own families;
May all of us who are sons and daughters of living parents honor and cherish them in this life and the next;
May all of us who are brothers and sisters support, comfort, and assist our siblings.
May the example of the Holy Family of Nazareth be before us, always and forever, Amen.
From the Encyclical Veritatis Splendor by Blessed Pope John Paul the Great:
43. The Second Vatican Council points out that the "supreme rule of life is the divine law itself, the eternal, objective and universal law by which God out of his wisdom and love arranges, directs and governs the whole world and the paths of the human community. God has enabled man to share in this divine law, and hence man is able under the gentle guidance of God's providence increasingly to recognize the unchanging truth".[78]
The Council refers back to the classic teaching on "God's eternal law." Saint Augustine defines this as "the reason or the will of God, who commands us to respect the natural order and forbids us to disturb it".[79] Saint Thomas identifies it with "the type of the divine wisdom as moving all things to their due end".[80] And God's wisdom is providence, a love which cares. God himself loves and cares, in the most literal and basic sense, for all creation (cf. Wis 7:22; 8:11). But God provides for man differently from the way in which he provides for beings which are not persons. He cares for man not "from without", through the laws of physical nature, but "from within", through reason, which, by its natural knowledge of God's eternal law, is consequently able to show man the right direction to take in his free actions.[81] In this way God calls man to participate in his own providence, since he desires to guide the world--not only the world of nature but also the world of human persons--through man himself, through man's reasonable and responsible care. The "natural law" enters here as the human expression of God's eternal law. Saint Thomas writes: "Among all others, the rational creature is subject to divine providence in the most excellent way, insofar as it partakes of a share of providence, being provident both for itself and for others. Thus it has a share of the Eternal Reason, whereby it has a natural inclination to its proper act and end. This participation of the eternal law in the rational creature is called natural law".[82]
44. The Church has often made reference to the Thomistic doctrine of natural law, including it in her own teaching on morality. Thus my Venerable Predecessor Leo XIII emphasized "the essential subordination of reason and human law to the Wisdom of God and to his law." After stating that "the 'natural law' is written and engraved in the heart of each and every man, since it is none other than human reason itself which commands us to do good and counsels us not to sin", Leo XIII appealed to the "higher reason" of the divine Lawgiver: "But this prescription of human reason could not have the force of law unless it were the voice and the interpreter of some higher reason to which our spirit and our freedom must be subject". Indeed, the force of law consists in its authority to impose duties, to confer rights and to sanction certain behaviour: "Now all of this, clearly, could not exist in man if, as his own supreme legislator, he gave himself the rule of his own actions". And he concluded: "It follows that the natural law is "itself the eternal law," implanted in beings endowed with reason, and inclining them "towards their right action and end," it is none other than the eternal reason of the Creator and Ruler of the universe".[83]
Man is able to recognize good and evil thanks to that discernment of good from evil which he himself carries out by his "reason, in particular by his reason enlightened by Divine Revelation and by faith," through the law which God gave to the Chosen People, beginning with the commandments on Sinai. Israel was called to accept and to live out God's law" as "a particular gift and sign of its election and of the divine Covenant," and also as a pledge of God's blessing. Thus Moses could address the children of Israel and ask them: "What great nation is that that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? And what great nation is there that has statutes and ordinances so righteous as all this law which I set before you this day?" (Dt 4:7-8). In the Psalms we encounter the sentiments of praise, gratitude and veneration which the Chosen People is called to show towards God's law, together with an exhortation to know it, ponder it and translate it into life. "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers, but his delight is in the law of the Lord and on his law he meditates day and night" (Ps 1:1-2). "The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes" (Ps 18/19:8-9).
Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not. Thus saith the LORD; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the LORD; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. And there is hope in thine end, saith the LORD, that thy children shall come again to their own border.The Troparion of the Feast is very succint; it highlights the apparent contradiction of the tragedy:
As acceptable victims and freshly plucked flowers, as divine firstfruits and newborn lambs, you were offered to Christ who was born as a Child, O most pure children. You mocked Herod's wickedness: now we beseech you, unceasingly pray for our souls. (Source)Bishop St. Quodvultdeus, in today's Office of Readings, provides another insight into the event:
A tiny child is born, who is a great king. Wise men are led to him from afar. They come to adore one who lies in a manger and yet reigns in heaven and on earth. When they tell of one who is born a king, Herod is disturbed. To save his kingdom he resolves to kill him, though if he would have faith in the child, he himself would reign in peace in this life and for ever in the life to come.Finally, the antiphon to the Benedictus in today's Morning Prayer is most eloquent:
Why are you afraid, Herod, when you hear of the birth of a king? He does not come to drive you out, but to conquer the devil. But because you do not understand this you are disturbed and in a rage, and to destroy one child whom you seek, you show your cruelty in the death of so many children.
You are not restrained by the love of weeping mothers or fathers mourning the deaths of their sons, nor by the cries and sobs of the children. You destroy those who are tiny in body because fear is destroying your heart. You imagine that if you accomplish your desire you can prolong your own life, though you are seeking to kill Life himself.
Yet your throne is threatened by the source of grace, so small, yet so great, who is lying in the manger. He is using you, all unaware of it, to work out his own purposes freeing souls from captivity to the devil. He has taken up the sons of the enemy into the ranks of God’s adopted children.
The children die for Christ, though they do not know it. The parents mourn for the death of martyrs. The child makes of those as yet unable to speak fit witnesses to himself. See the kind of kingdom that is his, coming as he did in order to be this kind of king. See how the deliverer is already working deliverance, the saviour already working salvation.
But you, Herod, do not know this and are disturbed and furious. While you vent your fury against the child, you are already paying him homage, and do not know it.
How great a gift of grace is here! To what merits of their own do the children owe this kind of victory? They cannot speak, yet they bear witness to Christ. They cannot use their limbs to engage in battle, yet already they bear off the palm of victory. (Source)
At the king's command these innocent babies and little children were put to death; they died for Christ, and now in the glory of heaven as they follow him, the sinless Lamb, they sing for ever: Glory to you, O Lord.It is most appropriate that we also remember today the little babies killed in today's abortion mills. Let us ask their intercession for us, their mothers, and those who defend their deaths as the free exercise of an inalienable "right." May we repent, do penance, and turn to God for forgiveness as doers and enablers of this grievous sin.
Brethren, Peace and Good in the Name of Our Lord Jesus, whose first Advent we make present again today. May joy, peace, and love flow to you from the throne of the Blessed Trinity into your hearts this day and always.
The Washington Post reported last week:
Twelve nurses who sued one of the state’s largest hospitals after claiming they were forced to assist in abortions over their religious and moral objections reached a deal Thursday with their employer in federal court.
Under the agreement, 12 nurses in the same-day surgery unit of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey can remain in their current positions and not be compelled to assist in any part of an abortion procedure. The nurses must only help in a life-threatening emergency if no other non-objecting staff members are available and only until which time one can be brought in to relieve them, according to the agreement.
I want to highlight the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) reaction to the settlement:
The ACLU, which was not party to the suit, said it was concerned about a growing number of similar cases around the country as what the organization sees as an effort to use religion to discriminate in a health care context.
“No one should ever have to worry about facing discrimination when they check into the hospital,” said Brigitte Amiri, an attorney with the ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom Project. “No woman should have to fear that medical staff will place ideology over duty or deny her care.”
The ACLU’s reaction is disturbing and illustrative of the moral darkness reigning within their organization. Why? Because they equate the exercise of conscience with adherence to an ideology, presumably something that they are free from themselves.
Conscience is not ideology. Conscience is the medium through which human beings perceive and acknowledge the imperatives of the divine, eternal moral law. No human agency can force people to act against their conscience. No one should be penalized in their employment for having exercised their right conscience. As the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council observed:
The social nature of man, however, itself requires that he should give external expression to his internal acts of religion: that he should share with others in matters religious; that he should profess his religion in community. Injury therefore is done to the human person and to the very order established by God for human life, if the free exercise of religion is denied in society, provided just public order is observed. – Declaration on Religious Freedom, Dignitatis Humanae
By equating conscience with ideology, the ACLU, which pretends to be the defender of civil freedoms and rights, has instead embraced a totalitarian principle to be imposed upon the consciences of Christian people under cover of law. The ACLU’s position, then, represents a defense of the state’s power to coerce our consciences: it is the beginning of all tyranny.
Along with Planned Parenthood, the ACLU is yet another malignant organization our country can do without. Though I can only speak for myself, I lend my voice to a number of others and I am confident that we can state that we will not sacrifice our hard-earned rights over the ACLU’s altar of tyranny.
The Christmas Kalend or Proclamation
In the year 5199 from the creation of the world, from the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth; 2,957 years from the flood; 2,015 years from the birth of Abraham; 1,510 years from Moses and the Exodus of Israel from Egypt; 1,031 years from the anointment of David as king; in the 65th week of Daniel's prophecy; in the 194th Olympiad; in the year 752 of the foundation of Rome; in the year 42 of the reign of Octavius Augustus; the whole world being at peace; in the sixth age of the world: Jesus Christ, eternal God and eternal Son of the Father; wishing to consecrate the world through his most merciful Advent, having being conceived of the Holy Spirit, and having passed 9 months from his conception, He was born, He was made Man, from the Virgin Mary, in Bethlehem of Judah.
We wish you all a happy and blessed Christmas Day!
Blessed Pope John Paul the Great
The personal resources of femininity are certainly no less than the resources of masculinity: they are merely different. Hence a woman, as well as a man, must understand her "fulfilment" as a person, her dignity and vocation, on the basis of these resources, according to the richness of the femininity which she received on the day of creation and which she inherits as an expression of the "image and likeness of God" that is specifically hers. The inheritance of sin suggested by the words of the Bible - "Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you" - can be conquered only by following this path. The overcoming of this evil inheritance is, generation after generation, the task of every human being, whether woman or man. For whenever man is responsible for offending a woman's personal dignity and vocation, he acts contrary to his own personal dignity and his own vocation.
Brethren, Peace and Good to all of you. As many of you already know, the Archbishop of San Francisco, George Niederauer, "disinvited" openly homosexual Protestant clergy from Advent vespers in a local parish. The "LGBT Community" is thoroughly offended and is attempting to make this a wedge issue.I grew up in the Catholic Church, and it pretty much drove me away from religion. I could never quite get the basic contradictions between a message of love for all people and a politics of intolerance. (Jesus loves his children, except the women, who have to be second-class citizens, and the homosexuals, who are going to burn in Hell.)It appears you missed CCD class the day they discussed this:
Chastity and homosexualityYou misinform your readers when you state that the Church's stance is to hate homosexual persons. Far from it.
2357 Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity,140 tradition has always declared that "homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered."141 They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.
"2358 The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. They do not choose their homosexual condition; for most of them it is a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God's will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.
"2359 Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection."
Fr. Nicolas Schwizer
…therefore a man will leave his father and his mother, and the two will become one flesh. So, they are no longer two, but one flesh. Well then, what God has bound together, man will not separate…
In the time of Jesus, no Jew questioned the right to divorce, since Moses had allowed it. What the Rabbis of that time discussed was the motives for divorce: whether it was reason enough that the woman burned the food or that the husband found another woman more beautiful.
Regardless, divorce was granted very easily. Pharisaic morality was based on the non-admitted inferiority of the woman who was considered property of the male. In light of this pharisaical legality, the Lord poses God’s original project exactly as it is described in Genesis. Union of the male and female expresses human fulfillment and happiness.
I believe this era – mores o than previous eras – has a greater need to meditate on this Gospel because in this Gospel, Jesus solemnly affirms the character of matrimony and the indissoluble unity of the spouses. And it is not about a law imposed on spouses. Rather, it traces the way to human happiness: it reveals that the familial and conjugal relationship is an inexhaustible source of creation and joy.
The changing of spouse gives the illusion of renewal, but it is nothing more than a new beginning destined to failure with the same obstacle as always…..selfishness, laziness, sterility of those who are unfaithful.
Often, the indissolubility of matrimony is understood and experienced as an obligation which limits the freedom of the spouses. But Christ has abolished the “law” and has given his life while opposing the “legal” licentiousness of the Jews. He did not invent any new obligation. The only thing He did was express the profound desire of love.
Because all authentic love wants to be eternal, it creates fidelity, demands commitment, aspires for discovery, pretends never to end, wants to grow and develop itself endlessly. No one who truly loves sets a deadline. No love exists by quotas or for periods of time. And, therefore, we have to cultivate love daily, we have to renew it permanently.
The true meaning of indissolubility is not, therefore, to prohibit a separation. Its value is fully positive: they will never finish knowing or loving each other. The nature of love and matrimony consists in developing indefinitely and in renewing without ceasing. When a human being begins to feel loved, he/she begins to change, to blossom, to discover himself/herself and to unfold without exhausting his/her resources.
Already Father Joseph Kentenich, founder of the Schoenstatt Movement, said this when he defined fidelity as: “creative and vigorous preservation of the first love.” And he referred not only to conjugal/married love, but to all forms of love: paternal love, maternal, filial (childlike), fraternal…..
One must work daily to create marriage/matrimony. Indissolubility is not a pillow on which the spouses may sleep, rather it is a calling to renew and enliven their love daily.
Dear brothers and sisters, I invite you to renew the great loves in your life: love for family, spouse, children, siblings and brothers and sisters in community.
Questions for reflection
1. Am I committed to strive daily for marriage/matrimony?
2. What is my opinion on the indissolubility of marriage/matrimony?
3. How do we strengthen love in the family?
A Reading from the Office of Readings
A sermon of St Bernard
The whole world awaits Mary's reply
You have heard, O Virgin, that you will conceive and bear a son; you have heard that it will not be by man but by the Holy Spirit. The angel awaits an answer; it is time for him to return to God who sent him. We too are waiting, O Lady, for your word of compassion; the sentence of condemnation weighs heavily upon us.
The price of our salvation is offered to you. We shall be set free at once if you consent. In the eternal Word of God we all came to be, and behold, we die. In your brief response we are to be remade in order to be recalled to life.
Tearful Adam with his sorrowing family begs this of you, O loving Virgin, in their exile from Paradise. Abraham begs it, David begs it. All the other holy patriarchs, your ancestors, ask it of you, as they dwell in the country of the shadow of death. This is what the whole earth waits for, prostrate at your feet. It is right in doing so, for on your word depends comfort for the wretched, ransom for the captive, freedom for the condemned, indeed, salvation for all the sons of Adam, the whole of your race.
Answer quickly, O Virgin. Reply in haste to the angel, or rather through the angel to the Lord. Answer with a word, receive the Word of God. Speak your own word, conceive the divine Word. Breathe a passing word, embrace the eternal Word.
Why do you delay, why are you afraid? Believe, give praise, and receive. Let humility be bold, let modesty be confident. This is no time for virginal simplicity to forget prudence. In this matter alone, O prudent Virgin, do not fear to be presumptuous. Though modest silence is pleasing, dutiful speech is now more necessary. Open your heart to faith, O blessed Virgin, your lips to praise, your womb to the Creator. See, the desired of all nations is at your door, knocking to enter. If he should pass by because of your delay, in sorrow you would begin to seek him afresh, the One whom your soul loves. Arise, hasten, open. Arise in faith, hasten in devotion, open in praise and thanksgiving. Behold the handmaid of the Lord, she says, be it done to me according to your word. (Source: Universalis.org)
Brethren, Peace and Good in Jesus Our Lord "who was, is, and is to come." Today we start singing the Messianic "O" Antiphons during Evening Prayer. This sketch of the Seven Antiphons courtesy of Fr. Maurice Gilbert and Sandro Magister of Chiesa.Com.
They're sung one per day, at the Magnificat during vespers. They are very ancient, and extraordinarily rich in references to the prophecies of the Messiah. Their initials form an acrostic. Here they are in transcription, with a guide to interpretation
ROMA, December 17, 2008 – From today until the day before Christmas Eve, at the Magnificat during vespers in the Roman rite, seven antiphons are sung, one per day, all of them beginning with an invocation to Jesus, although he is never called by name.
The antiphons are very old, going back to the time of Pope Gregory the Great, around the year 600. They are in Latin, and are inspired by the texts of the Old Testament proclaiming the Messiah.
At the beginning of each antiphon, in order, Jesus is invoked as Wisdom, Lord, Root, Key, Star, King, Emmanuel. In Latin: Sapientia, Adonai, Radix, Clavis, Oriens, Rex, Emmanuel.
Read starting from the last, the Latin initials of these words form an acrostic: "Ero cras," meaning: "I will be [there] tomorrow." It is the proclamation of the Lord who comes. The last antiphon, which completes the acrostic, is sung on December 23, and the following day, with first vespers, the feast of the Nativity begins.
These antiphons have been plucked from obscurity by, unexpectedly, "La Civiltà Cattolica," the journal of the Rome Jesuits that is printed after review by the Vatican secretariat of state.
Also unusual is the place of prestige given to the article illustrating the seven antiphons, written by Fr. Maurice Gilbert, director of the Jerusalem branch of the Pontifical Biblical Institute. The article opens the pre-Christmas issue of the magazine, in the spot usually reserved for the editorial.
In the article, Fr. Gilbert illustrates the antiphons one by one. He demonstrates their extremely rich references to the texts of the Old Testament. And he points out one special feature: the last three antiphons include some expressions that can be explained only in the light of the New Testament.
The antiphon "O Oriens" for December 21 includes a clear reference to the Canticle of Zechariah in Chapter 1 of the Gospel of Luke, the "Benedictus": "The daybreak from on high will visit us to shine on those who sit in darkness and death's shadow."
The antiphon "O Rex" for December 22 includes a reference to a passage from the hymn to Jesus in Chapter 2 of the letter of Paul to the Ephesians: "That he might create in himself one new person in place of the two [Jews and pagans]."
The antiphon "O Emmanuel" for December 23, finally, concludes with the invocation "Dominus Deus noster": an exclusively Christian invocation, because only the followers of Jesus recognize the Emmanuel as the Lord their God.
Here, then, are the complete texts of the seven antiphons, in Latin and in translation, with highlighting of the initials that form the acrostic "Ero cras," and in parentheses the main references to the Old and New Testament:
I – December 17
O SAPIENTIA, quae ex ore Altissimi prodiisti, attingens a fine usque ad finem fortiter suaviterque disponens omnia: veni ad docendum nos viam prudentiae.
O Wisdom, who come from the mouth of the Most High (Sirach 24:5), you extend to the ends of the earth, and order all things with power and sweetness (Wisdom 8:1): come and teach us the way of wisdom (Proverbs 9:6).
II – December 18
O ADONAI, dux domus Israel, qui Moysi in igne flammae rubi apparuisti, et in Sina legem dedisti: veni ad redimendum nos in brachio extenso.
O Lord (Exodus 6:2, Vulgate), leader of the house of Israel, who appeared to Moses in the fire of the burning bush (Exodus 3:2) and on Mount Sinai gave him the law (Exodus 20): come and free us with your powerful arm (Exodus 15:12-13).
III – December 19
O RADIX Iesse, qui stas in signum populorum, super quem continebunt reges os suum, quem gentes deprecabuntur: veni ad liberandum nos, iam noli tardare.
O Root of Jesse, who stand as a sign for the peoples (Isaiah 11:10), the kings of the earth are silent before you (Isaiah 52:15) and the nations invoke you: come to free us, do not delay (Habakkuk 2:3).
IV – December 20
O CLAVIS David et sceptrum domus Israel, qui aperis, et nemo claudit; claudis, et nemo aperit: veni et educ vinctum de domo carceris, sedentem in tenebris et umbra mortis.
O Key of David (Isaiah 22:23), scepter of the house of Israel (Genesis 49:10), who open and no one may shut; who shut and no one may open: come, free from prison captive man, who lies in darkness and the shadow of death (Psalm 107: 10, 14).
V – December 21
O ORIENS, splendor lucis aeternae et sol iustitiae: veni et illumina sedentem in tenebris et umbra mortis.
O Star who rises (Zechariah 3:8; Jeremiah 23:5), splendor of the eternal light(Wisdom 7:26) and sun of justice (Malachi 3:20): come and enlighten those who lie in darkness and the shadow of death (Isaiah 9:1; Luke 1:79).
VI – December 22
O REX gentium et desideratus earum, lapis angularis qui facis utraque unum: veni et salva hominem quel de limo formasti.
O King of the nations (Jeremiah 10:7) and their desire (Haggai 2:7), cornerstone (Isaiah 28:16), who reunite Jews and pagans into one (Ephesians 2:14): come and save the man whom you formed from the earth (Genesis 2:7).
VII – December 23
O EMMANUEL, rex et legifer noster, expectatio gentium et salvator earum: veni ad salvandum nos, Dominus Deus noster.
O Emmanuel (Isaiah 7:14), our king and lawgiver (Isaiah 33:22), hope and salvation of the peoples (Genesis 49:10; John 4:42): come to save us, O Lord our God (Isaiah 37:20).
Read it all here.Catholics often criticize Protestants for their subjective “private interpretations” of the Scriptures that give short shrift to tradition. Some Catholics, however, are guilty of the very same thing when it comes to private revelations — messages reportedly given by Jesus or Mary to some individual or group of individuals. The 1917 revelations given by the Blessed Virgin Mary to three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal, during World War I, at the outset of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, constituted possibly the most portentous wake-up call the Church has ever received. But the interpretation of the three “secrets” our Lady entrusted to the children have been subjected to the vagaries of private interpretation by Catholics who give short shrift to the Magisterium of the Church.
The most egregious example of this phenomenon comes from a Canadian priest, Fr. Nicholas Gruner, the so-called Fatima priest, and the Fatima Center he founded. Fr. Gruner was ordained by the bishop of Avellino, Italy, in 1976, and transferred to Canada, but was suspended after refusing to return to his home diocese. The Vatican’s Congregation for the Clergy confirmed his suspension a divinis (the loss of faculties for celebrating Mass, hearing confessions, etc.) in 2001. The archbishop of Hyderabad, India, however, disagreed with the suspension and incardinated Gruner there — giving rise to confusion about Gruner’s ecclesiastical status, and claims by his supporters that his suspension was invalid.
For many years Fr. Gruner has been insisting that the request our Lady made at Fatima for the consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart by the pope in concert with the bishops of the world has not been made in the way the Virgin requested. His sticking point is that the consecration of Russia has not been made by name.
In December 1983, after consulting with Sr. Lucia, the only living Fatima visionary, Pope John Paul II sent out letters inviting all the world’s Catholic bishops, and some Orthodox bishops, to join him in a joint act of consecration, scheduled for the feast of the Annunciation, March 25, 1984. In the consecration, the Pope, accompanied not only in spirit by the bishops to whom he sent the letters, but also physically in St. Peter’s Basilica by numerous bishops and cardinals, consecrated the whole world to Mary’s Immaculate Heart. Reportedly fearing retaliation from the Soviet Union, which at the time was threatening to crush the Solidarity movement in Poland, the Pope added a diplomatic but pointed consecration of Russia herself: “In a special way we entrust and consecrate to you those individuals and nations that particularly need to be thus entrusted and consecrated” (italics added).
Brethren, Peace and Good to all of you in Jesus Christ Our Lord.
One of my favorite Bible passages are found in the book of Sirach, also called Ecclesiasticus, chapter 38, verses 1-15. It reads thusly:
1 Give doctors the honor they deserve, for the Lord gave them their work to do.[a]2 Their skill came from the Most High, and kings reward them for it.3 Their knowledge gives them a position of importance, and powerful people hold them in high regard.
4 The Lord created medicines from the earth, and a sensible person will not hesitate to use them.5 (A)Didn't a tree once make bitter water fit to drink, so that the Lord's power[b] might be known?6 He gave medical knowledge to human beings, so that we would praise him for the miracles he performs.7-8The druggist mixes these medicines, and the doctor will use them to cure diseases and ease pain. There is no end to the activities of the Lord, who gives health to the people of the world.
9 My child, when you get sick, don't ignore it. Pray to the Lord, and he will make you well.10 Confess all your sins and determine that in the future you will live a righteous life.11 Offer incense and a grain offering, as fine as you can afford.[c]12 Then call the doctor—for the Lord created him—and keep him at your side; you need him.13 There are times when you have to depend on his skill.14 The doctor's prayer is that the Lord will make him able to ease his patients' pain and make them well again.15 As for the person who sins against his Creator, he deserves to be sick. (Good News Translation via Bible Gateway)
I think these verses have had a profound influence in the way the Catholic Church views illness and healing. Yes, we Catholics pray for the healing of body, soul, and spirit, even for miracles, but we also trust medical science and we do so in large measure because of the verses above. That’s why you don’t see Catholic faith healers roaming about and those whose vocation is to pray for the sick do so under the strict directives found in the Instruction of Prayers for Healing published by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith back in 2000 – when the current Holy Father was the prefect. The Instruction states:
§ 3. Anything resembling hysteria, artificiality, theatricality or sensationalism, above all on the part of those who are in charge of such gatherings, must not take place.
For a Catholic, the choice is not between prayer and medicine, but a holistic, synergistic approach of both. If the Protestant Reformers hadn’t ejected Sirach from the canon, sects like Christian Science or Jehovah’s Witnesses which deny, or severely limit the practice of life-saving medicine, may have never arisen.
My brothers and sisters: everything is a gift. Healing, whether it comes from the hands of a physician or from answered prayer – or from both, usually – is always a gift from God. May the Lord bless us all, and keep us in good health to glorify Him, Amen.
The "gap" behind, between, and below the altar and the Image is really a passage way pilgrims may access to beheld the Icon closely without disturbing the Sacrifice of the Mass constantly going on at the altar. One gains access to it through the crypts. Ironically, that's where an ancient faith and cultus meet modern technology. As I entered the crypt I saw four mobile sidewalks, the kind you may see at any airport; three go in one direction and one returns. The pilgrim "rides" the belt as s/he contemplates the image.
I have seen copies and renditions of this Holy Icon elsewhere before. Incidentally, the Cathedral church of my birthplace in Ponce, Puerto Rico (pictured at right) is dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe. An authenticated replica of the Image hangs over one of its side altars. I've seen other replicas in other places, but let me tell you, none of these ever moved me as much as the real thing. 
Holy God,
Holy Mighty One
Holy Immortal One
Have Mercy on Us!
In Christian iconography, Christ Pantokrator refers to a specific depiction of Christ. Pantocrator or Pantokrator (from the Greek Παντοκράτωρ) is a translation of one of many Names of God in Judaism. When the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek as the Septuagint, Pantokrator was used both for YHWH Tzevaot "Lord of Hosts" and for El Shaddai "God Almighty". In the New Testament, Pantokrator is used once by Saint Paul (2 Cor 6:18). Aside from that one occurrence, the author of the Book of Revelation is the only New Testament author to use the word Pantokrator. The author of Revelation uses the word nine times,[3] and while the references to God and Christ in Revelation are at times interchangeable, Pantokrator appears to be reserved for God alone. (Source: Wikipedia)
Brethren, may the contemplation of this icon of the Icon of God bring you joy this Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday.
Brethren, may the Peace of Christ that surpasses every understanding be always with you and all His Good and Blessings and the happiness that spring from them eternally.
Faith as being in love
Some time back, a friend asked me how did it feel like to believe in God. The friend – a young lady who had suffered much in life and who counted herself as a unbeliever – asked it of me, earnestly.
I was stumped.
Much later I answered her that believing in God is a lot like being in love: one always thinks of the Beloved, His reality fills one’s senses, aspirations, and hope, and one’s soul can’t wait to unite herself in love with Him who Himself is Love. My answer was a shot in the dark, coming well after we had stopped talking to each other – she also had a thin skin for political discussion or probing questions about her ultimate values. No matter.
If you have been in love – and I have been with my wife for 30 years now – then you will understand the simile. Faith is not a mere intellectual assent to articles of belief proposed by the Church, it is that, but it is much more. The dogmas of the Church are lamps lighting the way, means to an end and not ends in themselves. The end, is God himself, his Person, and the communion of the creature with His all-transforming love.
If you have never been in love,really in love and not merely infatuated or emotionally co-dependent, then you will not know what I mean. Perhaps by loving another, really loving someone outside yourself, your heart will crack open enough to love God, for to believe in Him is to love Him.
Faith as listening to a symphony
One of the dictionary definitions of symphony is “Harmony, especially of sound or color.” Sometimes the harmony of sound and light may be effected, as in the Disney movie Fantasia. The essence of a symphony is the harmony of tempo and music, the blending of the instruments, the artistry of the players, the discipline of the conductor, and the passions of the composer. The educated ear detects the harmonious layering of sound but only the heart of the hearer is able to understand the heart of the composer. If we ignore one’s heart – one’s soul, really – we lost a full dimension of music, perhaps the dimension that matters most.
Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, whose The Three Ages of the Interior Life (2 Volume Set)
Infused faith is like a faculty of supernatural audition, like a higher musical sense, which permits us to hear the spiritual harmonies of the kingdom of heaven, to hear, in a way, the voice of God through the prophets and His Son before we are admitted to see Him face to face. Between the unbeliever, who studies the Gospel, and the believer, there is a difference similar to that which exists between two persons who are listening to a Beethoven symphony, one of whom has a musical ear and the other has not. Both hear all the notes of the symphony, but one alone grasps its meaning and its soul. Similarly, only the believer adheres supernaturally to the Gospel as to the supernatural word of God; and he adheres to it even though untutored, while the learned man with all his means of criticism cannot, without infused faith, adhere to it in this manner. "He that believeth in the Son of God, hath the testimony of God in himself."
It follows too that the unbeliever, particularly the militant one, the one who seeks increasing restrictions upon the freedom of expression and the open participation of Christian believers in the public arena, that unbeliever is tone deaf. In fact, in his darkness, the unbelievers rejoices at the fact of being tone deaf and in his delusion, he wants everyone around him to be tone deaf too. But I digress.
Of course, there are people in darkness out there who can appreciate a good symphony. Legends recount how Nero fiddled while watching Rome burn, and how, upon his death, he lamented how the world had lost a great poet. Hitler liked Wagner and if I recall correctly, racist and convicted criminal Matthew F. Hale was an accomplished musician. It stands to reason that passion for music or poetry alone does not prepare a person to believe in God. That’s because to listen to God’s symphony one has to be able to love with an open heart, holding nothing back, which takes us back to the first comparison: believing in God in a manner of speaking, is being in love with God.
Bottom line: if you are, or ever been, in love that includes total surrender of self for the good of another, you have a good inkling of what believing or “having faith” is all about. If you can appreciate a symphony with more than your physical senses, but with your soul also, that would be another fair comparison. If you can do both, you are well on your way to faith. If you can do neither, you better go home and reexamine your life.
Father Nicolas Schwizer
1. Today, opposing opinions exist on the actual imporance of the Blessed Virgin. Some believe that – to be a modern Christian – one must put aside the ancient/antiquated devotions of our grandparents. According to them, the Virgin, the Saints and other things are no longer in style.
But what happens then to the outdated? To be a modern Christian, must one really abandon all the religious customs of former times? What interests us specifically is knowing if the Blessed Virgin and the devotion to Her are important for the renewed Church and for the world of tomorrow.
2. We all know that the Church is in the middle of a process of rapid changes. And it should be this way: if the world changes, the Church should adapt to the new mentality. Thus her same message for all times can be presented in a new style, with words and forms which the man/woman of today understands. It is very important to distinguish these two aspects: the message, which is the spirit, and the style, which is the form in which this spirit is expressed.
The renewal of the Church does not consist, primarily, in changing its exterior forms. This could be a sign or an incentive for renewal. But the true renewal comes about only when there is interior growth, in the spirit. Without this, the new forms are only empty forms.
Let us think about the case of a family: we cannot say that the family has renewed itself simply because they painted the house in a color which is in style. The renewal comes about only if the family grows in spirit, in the spirt of respect and understanding, love and unity.
The same happens with the Church since the Church is also a great family. Her renewal is measured, especially, by the new forces of the spirit which enliven and motivate her.
And could a family truly renew itself in its spirit without growing in love for its Mother? It seems impossible to me. Therefore, all authentic renewal of the Church should be accompanied by an increase of love for the Blessed Virgin.
Whoever does not understand this, remains on the surface of the changes.
True, the forms in which we express today our love for Mary can be different from those of the past. But if our love for Her does not grow, then we cannot speak of the renewal of the Church. There is no new life where there is no new love.
3. The Second Vatican Council – which began this process of renewal – placed the Virgin in the center of daily life more than ever before. But we were not only asked to grow in love for Her. Moreover, She was shown to us as the perfect model for that renewed Church which God wants for the newest times. Radiating precisely in the Blessed Virgin is that entire new spirit which the Church needs in order to face the world’s problems today and to build a world for tomorrow.
Thus the Council shows us Mary as the Great Sign which indicates to us the only way for true renewal and gives us the strength to overcome its obstacles and dangers. So, for the post-conciliar Church, to renew itself and modernize itself means to strive to become like Mary. Thus, the Church of today becomes – with Her and Like Her – a Great Sign of salvation for our times.
4. Therefore, let us look toward that Great Sign in Heaven to allow ourselves to be penetrated by her light! May we discover in Her the image of the Church of the future, the image of that Marian Church which longs for the Holy Spirit! May we also discover in the light of the Blessed Virgin the image of the new man who has become, in Mary, a perfect reality.
Renewed in the spirit of the Blessed Virgin, let us build the Church and our society!
Questions for reflection
1. What does the Virgin Mary represent for me?
2. Which traits of Mary could I imitate?
3. What opinion do I have of the Church today?
Read the entire piece here.CNSNews.com asked Pelosi at her press briefing on Thursday: “In August, HHS issued a proposed regulation under the new health care law that would require that all health care plans cover sterilizations and all FDA-approved contraceptives. The U.S. Catholic bishops have called the regulation an unprecedented attack on religious freedom and have asked HHS to drop it. Do you agree with the bishops?”
Noting that she is “a devout Catholic,” Pelosi said she sometimes disagrees with the Catholic bishops when they act as “lobbyists.”
“I don’t know if I agree with your characterization of what the HHS put forth,” Pelosi said, “but as a mother of five children in six years, as a devout Catholic, I have great respect for our bishops when they are my pastor. As lobbyists in Washington D.C., we have some areas of disagreement
In reality we do practicing homosexuals no favor by denying them the tough love that might deter some of them from sinning, or from proselytizing on behalf of a lifestyle that is destructive personally and socially. Nor do we let them off the hook in the eternal scheme of things by bowing to their sensibilities, i.e. by suppressing or downplaying the logical conclusion that mainstreaming homosexuality into society poses a danger to children.My own experience in talking about these subjects is very similar to Mr. Struble's: the homosexualists' invocation of empirical research in favor of the homosexual lifestyle is selective, narrowly defined, and ideologically contrived, and their biblical and moral revisionism fanciful, shallow, and disingenous. I too observe that scientific or journalistic researchers who raise questions about the homosexualist agenda and dare to swim against the current of general acceptance are silenced very quickly. Worse, independent business people who contribute to the defense of natural marriage find themselves the object of "opposition research": their names published to facilitate boycots, physical intimidation, and Krystal-Nacht tactics spearheaded by some homosexualist activists. The resulting narrowing of our mind and liberties are indeed frightful, as they continue to contract in the name of "individual freedoms" so-called.
A gay subculture threatens kids collectively in proportion as it distorts morals in the culture where children get raised. The Pope has lamented the breakdown of morality to such an extent in the West that the unthinkable is, in the current climate, finding more advocates.
Logically too, acceptance of sodomy increases the level of peril for vulnerable kids individually. In such a social milieu, sexual deviants become bolder and pose a higher risk to deviate from other norms, including those designed to protect minors. Harold Reeves puts it concisely: “It is perfectly logical that homosexual men are more likely to be child molesters of male children, and furthermore, equally logical that pedophiles, whether male or female, do not let age stand in their way.”
Of Spiritual Communion:From Wikipedia) According to the official Catholic handbook (enchiridion) for indulgences, "an Act of Spiritual Communion, according to any pious formula, is enriched with a partial indulgence."
Although a real communion is at the oftenest restrained to once a day, yet you are at liberty, as was said above, to communicate in spirit every hour; and nothing but your own negligence can prevent your receiving this great benefit. And it is worth observing, that a spiritual communion is sometimes of greater advantage to the soul, and more acceptable to God, than many sacramental communions performed with little preparation and affection. When, therefore, you are disposed to receive the Son of God spiritually, be sure he is ready to give himself thus to you for your food and nourishment.
By way of preparation, turn your thoughts toward Jesus, and after a little reflection on the multitude of your sins, declare to him your sincere sorrow for them. Then beg of him with the most profound respect and lively faith, that he will condescend to enter your heart, and replenish it with a new grace, as a remedy against its weakness and the violence of its enemies. Every time you mortify any of your passions, or perform some act of virtue, take that opportunity of preparing your heart for the Son of God, who continually demands it of you; then for addressing yourself to him, beg, with great fervour, the blessing of his presence, as the physician of your soul, as a powerful protector to take and keep possession of your heart against all opponents.
Call likewise to mind your last sacramental communion; and inflamed with the love of your Saviour, say to him: when shall I receive thee again, O my God? When will the happy day return? But if you desire to communicate, spiritually, with greater devotion, begin to prepare for it every night; and let every mortification and each act of virtue you practice, tend to prepare you for receiving, in spirit, your amiable Redeemer.
In the morning when you awake, meditate on the great advantages accruing from a holy communion, in which the soul retrieves lost virtues, recovers her former purity, is rendered worthy to partake of the merits of the cross, and performs an action highly pleasing to the eternal Father, who desires that every one should enjoy this divine sacrament. From hence endeavour to excite in your soul an ardent desire of receiving him in compliance with his will; and with this disposition say: Lord, since I am not allowed to receive thee this day sacramentally, let thy goodness and almighty power so order it, that cleansed from the stain of sin, and healed of all my wounds, I may deserve to receive thee in spirit, now, each day and hour; to the end that being strengthened with new grace, I may courageously resist my enemies, especially that failing, against which, for the love of thee, I now wage war.
My Jesus, I believe that you are in the Blessed Sacrament. I love you above all things, and I long for you in my soul. Since I cannot now receive you sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. As though you have already come, I embrace you and unite myself entirely to you; never permit me to be separated from you. Amen.Cardinal Rafael Merry del Val composed this Spiritual Communion:
At Thy feet, O my Jesus, I prostrate myself and I offer Thee repentance of my contrite heart, which is humbled in its nothingness and in Thy holy presence. I adore Thee in the Sacrament of Thy love, the ineffable Eucharist. I desire to receive Thee into the poor dwelling that my heart offers Thee. While waiting for the happiness of sacramental communion, I wish to possess Thee in spirit. Come to me, O my Jesus, since I, for my part, am coming to Thee! May Thy love embrace my whole being in life and in death. I believe in Thee, I hope in Thee, I love Thee. Amen.Another example is:
As I cannot this day enjoy the happiness of assisting at the holy Mysteries, O my God! I transport myself in spirit at the foot of Thine altar; I unite with the Church, which by the hands of the priest, offers Thee Thine adorable Son in the Holy Sacrifice; I offer myself with Him, by Him, and in His Name. I adore, I praise, and thank Thee, imploring Thy mercy, invoking Thine assistance, and presenting Thee the homage I owe Thee as my Creator, the love due to Thee as my Savior.Piarist fathers have taught this short act of Spiritual Communion, popularized by St. Josemaria Escriva:
Apply to my soul, I beseech Thee, O merciful Jesus, Thine infinite merits; apply them also to those for whom I particularly wish to pray. I desire to communicate spiritually, that Thy Blood may purify, Thy Flesh strengthen, and Thy Spirit sanctify me. May I never forget that Thou, my divine Redeemer, hast died for me; may I die to all that is not Thee, that hereafter I may live eternally with Thee. Amen.
I wish, Lord, to receive you with the purity, humility and devotion with which your most holy Mother received you, with the spirit and fervour of the saints.- Read also the Encyclical Letter Ecclesia de Eucharistia, by the Blessed Pope John Paul II, who one day the Church will proclaim "The Great."
, by the late, great Fr. Regiald Garrigou-Lagarance, O.P., and I thought I should share this quote with you:What does this mean?Finally, as sanctifying grace is essentially ordained to eternal life, it is also ordainedto a proximate disposition for us to receive the light of glory immediately after death without passing through purgatory. Purgatory is a punishment which presupposes a sin that have been completed if we had accepted with better dispositions the sufferings of the present life. Itis certain, in fact, that no one will be detained in purgatory except for sins he coould have avoided or for negligence in making reparation for them. Normally purgatory should be spent in this life while meriting, while growing in love, instead of after death without merit.
The proximate disposition to receive the light of glory immediately after death pressuposes a true purification analogous to that in souls that are about to leave purgatory and that have an ardent desire for the beatific vision. This ardent desire exists ordinarily in this life only in the union with God which results from the infused contemplation of the mysteries of salvation. Hence, contemplation stands out clearly even now, not as an extraordinary grace, but as an eminent grace in the normal way of sanctity.
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